Activity of calf thymus DNA helicase E on cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II)-damaged DNA

Calf DNA helicase E (hel E) is a moderately processive, 3' to 5' helicase, active on nicked DNA, that we have proposed to have a role in DNA repair (Turchi, J. J., Murante, R. S., and Bambara, R. A. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20, 6075-6080). Here we have examined its activity on a series of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cis-DDP)-modified DNA substrates. Hel E was capable of efficiently displacing a primer strand containing, in an internal position, a cis-DDP-modified dGG. In a two-primer model system, calf DNA polymerase epsilon could successfully extend an upstream primer through a cis-DDP-modified down-stream primer, to the end of the complementary template strand, in a reaction dependent on hel E. However, the translocation of hel E was blocked by cis-DDP modification of the template strand. Primer displacement was completely prevented if the modified site was located just upstream of the primer. The DNA-dependent ATPase activity of helicase E was also reduced by cis-DDP modification of the template DNA. Substrate competition experiments indicated that cis-DDP-modified DNA templates did not sequester hel E. Substrate titration experiments suggested that there is a short delay without ATP hydrolysis before dissociation of helicase E from cis-DDP-modified template sites. Interestingly, hel E could displace a primer if the cis-DDP modification was on the template within the annealed region. Possible explanations for this are discussed. Taken together, these results are consistent with the proposal that hel E participates in DNA repair by displacing segments of damaged DNA.